Participants highlighted the need for additional evidence on the influence of diarrheal disease on malnutrition and potential impact of rotavirus vaccines on stunting and shared lessons learned from introduction deliberations and stalled rollouts.

Symposium on Rotavirus Vaccines: Opportunities and Challenges

A symposium on Rotavirus Vaccines: Opportunities and Challenges kicked off the last day of ASVAC 2017. Daniel Payne of the U.S. CDC highlighted global vaccine impact, especially the rapid, substantial reductions in rotavirus deaths, hospitalization, and treatment-associated costs in countries routinely using vaccines.

Mathu Santosham noted the lag in vaccine introductions in Asia, highlighting barriers including declining diarrhea mortality and a lack of understanding of the health, economic, and societal consequences of rotavirus. Rakesh Kumar of UNDP shared the status of the Bharat vaccine and Indian rotavirus vaccine introduction—which has reached about 9% of India’s birth cohort to date—citing as key challenges training, cold chain expansion, high wastage rates, and complications of a phased rollout in a mixed public-private system.

Carl Kirkwood of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provided an update on the product landscape, including two nationally licensed Indian vaccines that may soon be prequalified by WHO for use globally, particularly in Gavi-eligible countries, and several new vaccine candidates in development.

Frédéric Debellut of PATH shared results of cost-effectiveness studies, highlighting that rotavirus vaccines continue to be a good investment even in low mortality settings and countries not eligible for Gavi support.